Effects of Parenting Stress and Work Environment on Female Nurses’ Job Embeddedness: Does Job Engagement Play a Mediating Role?

Abstract

Background: We explored practical strategies to improve nursing staff retention in Korea, addressing the challenges posed by nursing shortages.

Methods: We examined the influence of parental stress, the nursing work environment, and job engagement (a sense of connection and commitment to work) on job embeddedness. Data were collected from 216 female nurses with children aged 1–12 years working at hospitals in Korea from August 23 to October 13, 2024. Statistical analyses included independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, multiple regression analysis, and mediating effect.

Results: Job embeddedness showed a negative correlation with parenting stress (r=-0.360, P<0.001) and positive correlation with nursing work environment (r=0.653, P<0.001) and job engagement (r=0.540, P<0.001). Job engagement was also negatively correlated with parenting stress (r=-0.265, P<0.001) and positively correlated with the nursing work environment (r=0.472, P<0.001). Nurses with higher job satisfaction also reported higher job embeddedness (β=0.36, P<0.001). Improvements in the nursing work environment were associated with increase in both job embeddedness (β=0.36, P<0.001) and job engagement (β=0.18, P=0.002). Mediation analysis confirmed that job engagement partially mediated the relationships between parenting stress, the nursing work environment, and job embeddedness (F=75.76, P<0.001).

Conclusion: Parenting stress and the nursing work environment significantly influence job engagement, which, in turn, contributes to higher job embeddedness among nurses. To improve job embeddedness for female nurses, organizations should implement support programs to reduce parenting stress, foster family-friendly work environments, and establish institutional measures to promote job engagement.